Government ethics chief who clashed with Trump resigns

Salvatore Liguigli / Eyeem / Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Walter Shaub, director of the United States Office of Government Ethics (OGE), is expected to resign from his post later this month, according to a post on his personal Twitter account.

In a letter to the White House announcing his resignation, Shaub praised the OGE’s work, saying that they are “committed to protecting the principle that public service is a public trust, requiring employees to place loyalty to the Constitution, the laws, and ethical principles above private gain.”

Shaub also announced that he will be joining the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) as senior director of ethics on July 19.

In the release from the CLC, Shaub criticized the Trump administration, saying, “In working with the current administration, it has become clear to me that we need improvements to the existing ethics program.”

Shaub was appointed to a five-year term as the director of OGE in 2013 by then-President Barack Obama. He has been a regular critic of President Donald Trump’s decisions regarding his business entanglements since the 2016 election.

In December, the official OGE Twitter account posted tweets sarcastically praising the president for divesting from his business.

In January, Shaub sharply denounced Trump’s plan to step aside from his business engagements, leaving the work to his two sons.

“Stepping back from running his business is meaningless from a conflict-of-interest perspective,” Shaub said at a Brookings Forum in Washington on Jan. 11. “The presidency is a full-time job and he would’ve had to step back anyway.”